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Users and Modes of Use

There are four types of people who might use enterprise models: modellers, analysts, managers (or decision makers) and operators. An individual user may belong to more than one of these types. The tasks which any user is likely to carry out come under one of five categories: capture, visualise, analyse, synthesise and enact.

Modellers

are usually skilled in methods that originate in science, engineering or information technology (IT). The modelling processes and results are often abstract and graphical. In general, modellers can be expected to be comfortable with computers. Most modellers have some expertise in analysis of models, at least of the kind needed to determine the models' completeness and consistency. Modellers will capture and update components of the enterprise model and analyse it to determine whether it is correct.

Analysts

use models to explore the space of possible solutions (configurations, ways of working, options for change etc.) in order to obtain the information required for making business decisions. Certain analyses may lead to information that could be added to the model (possibly as annotations) or to new instantiations of the model (such as a newly synthesised process).

Managers

make business decisions on the basis of (implicit or explicit) models and their analyses. Managers often have analysis expertise.

There are two types of managers with quite different characteristics: top managers are responsible for high level decisions and tend to be interested in summaries only, whereas lower level managers require more detail. Top managers usually obtain the information they require from lower level management rather than from information systems. They are unlikely to want to use systems themselves but may work with them through others (e.g. lower level managers or analysts). Indeed, top managers would probably not work through the detailed analysis themselves, but would need to be talked through the results of an analyst doing it -- to understand the assumptions, constraints and data used in the analysis -- and have a detailed discussion of the "best'' solutions.

Managers will use analysis tools and visualisation tools (directly or through others) and will probably want to be able to annotate the model. Managers can initiate changes to high level strategies and objectives, which may effect changes in the enterprise and thus require the model to be changed.

Operators

carry out activities which are the results of business decisions. Operators might require to visualise parts of the model to generate a set of activities for themselves or to execute their work.

A key feature of an enterprise model is therefore its visualisation in ways that are appropriate to the particular users. The same model should be viewable from a number of different perspectives, e.g. the analyst's view of a process might include access to metrics used to assess the process, while the operator's view might include a step-by-step set of instructions.